EPM’s co-founder and one half of the Detroit Grand Pubahs, Oliver Way delivers his debut solo album ‘From the Shadows’.

Having spent the best part of a quarter century promoting and pushing other artists, ‘From The Shadows’ draws from a lifetime spent behind the scenes in contemporary electronic music. “I wanted this album to cover the different styles of electronic music that I have been into over the last 25 years taking in dub/reggae, breakbeats, electro, ghetto tech, house and of course techno. Using the Pubahs ethos of an album being an opportunity to experiment and take the listener on a bit of a journey, in this case a musical timeline of my life.”

That timeline is further supported and expanded by the artists who feature in both it’s making and the various remixers involved in its featured singles. All have long-standing personal connections to Oliver that, ultimately, go back to the very beginning of his teenage rave years. “I have been lucky enough to collaborate with other producers I have worked with for a long time. Helping me achieve this timeline are people like DJ Nasty aka Detroit's Filthiest on a Ghetto Tech track, who else could be better than one of the kings of this sound! Freddy Fresh aka the ‘Modulator’ who is an authority on early electro and breaks, Ben Long one of the best Techno producers out there; and of course, alongside BulletDodge Records owner Gareth Whitehead, my first solo album wouldn't be complete without collaborating with Detroit Grand Pubahs cohort and founder, Paris the Black FU.”

Oliver has been a recognised figure in the Techno scene for some time. As a DJ since 1991 and subsequently releasing under his own name in 1998 on Urban Substance Records before joining the Electro / Techno / Funk outfit Detroit Grand Pubahs in 2002. Taking up the pseudonym (The Mysterious) Mr O he produced alongside Paris the Black FU for their own label Detelefunk label. More recently he has collaborated with Ben Long (Space DJz) on numerous releases and provided remixes for labels like Torque, Engineroom, Beard Man and BulletDodge Records.

His debut solo album ‘From The Shadows’ shapes into life with the downtempo breaks of ‘Dust Storm’ that also pairs the husband and wife team of Jasmin and Liam Nolan on vox and sitar before the tougher techno roll of ‘Davies Gene’ pushes up the tempo with able assistance from Paris the Black FU and Bulletdodge’s Gareth Whitehead. Next up is this Winter’s lead single ‘Music Is So Special’ which samples New York Citi Peech Boys’ early ‘80s Disco record ‘Life Is Something Special’, slicing up the vocals and adding some heavy duty drums for maximum effect on present day dance floors.

‘Calling Danny Boy’ has all the grit and guile you would expect from a collaboration with Ben Long, whilst ‘Number Three’ is a pure electro throwdown as Oliver goes ‘shell’ toe to ‘shell’ toe with Freddy Fresh. ‘Stained Glass Shadows’ shifts gears yet again as Oliver morphs into planet funk with the able assistance of Mitch Marcus, Paul ‘Feathericci’ and his dad, Robert Way on bass.

Taking us back to his East London rave days we find the explosive breakbeat riddim riding ‘Bad Bwoy Tune’ before the breakneck paced and chopped up beats of ‘Working Girl’ take us deep into Ghetto Tech territory as Oliver teams up with long time buddy, Detroit’s Filthiest AKA DJ Nasty. ‘Thorpe Road’ is a cockney knees-up straight from the East London old skool. Part rude boy skank, part dub madness and part tongue in cheek, we find EJ Enebeli bouncing off Domgue’s sax before the tough, grinding, dark techno beats of second single ‘Lucky Dip’ leave us hot with the ‘engine’ still running.

The album is preceded on 30 March by the ‘Lucky Dip Remixes’ featuring Scan X, Ben Long, Ben Sims and Barrow Boy.